The yearly Dominican Independence Day's celebrations in the month of February will kick off this Friday, February 6 at the Jose Lake Ballpark 7:00pm with an opening ceremony followed by the softball tournament which will end on Sunday February 8. This year the tournament has 8 teams playing to win the Semana Dominicana's title. Semana Dominicana is celebrating it's 15th year on the island and their 171 anniversary of the Independence of the Dominican Republic from Haiti! This year the program has added new additions to the celebrations:
- A fundraising BBQ & Bingo on Sunday, February 15.
- The" Talk of the Town" will be the singing competition for the first time on Saturday, February 21
- The ecumenical service is one not to miss on Tuesday February 24
- Wednesday February 25 : A commemoration to Matías Ramón Mella, who played a very important role in the independence acts in 1844
- A new addition also will be a Health Fair on Thursday, February 26
The Independence Day, Feb 27, will starts with the hoisting of the flag 8:00am at the Dominican Consulate at the head of Backstreet followed by a review of the acts occurred on February 27, 1844. This will take place 7:00pm at the PMIA. One of the most awaited events will be the dance party with international Merengue singer Bonny Cepeda. Bonny was the first merengue artist to be nominated for a Grammy award, in 1985. Bonny Cepeda is one of the most successful dance musicians in the Dominican Republic. A former member of Wilfredo Vargas' orchestra, Cepeda has led such groups as Los Hijos del Rey (Children of the Sun), Bonny Con Keaton, and Bonny Cepeda & His Orquestra. In addition to recording more than 30 albums on his own, Cepeda has produced recordings by Fernando Villanova, Willie Berrios, El Grupo Chantelle, Grupo Chevi, Proyecto Punto, Sergio Vargas, Rikarena, and Llave Maestra. Cepeda studied piano at a local music school, Villa Consuelo, as youngster. He continued his studies at the National Conservatory in Santo Domingo. Cepeda recently moved back to the DR after have been residing in Puerto Rico for many years.
The long waited and popular parade will take place on Sunday, March 1st and as usual hundreds of Dominicanos will dress St. Maarten's main road with the Dominican's flag colors, music, dance, traditional outfits, t-shirts , costumes etc. As of this week we will start to see vehicles identified with the Dominican Flag, This year the foundation is encouraging everyone not only to carry with pride the Dominican Flag this month but our St. Maarten's flag. "Our objective is to remind our compatriots about our roots, traditions, culture and to become exemplary citizens of the island that have adopted us. We already have made and called St. Maarten Home, we support St. Maarten's traditions and culture, you can see that at the carnival, St. Maarten's Day etc. It's not only about carrying a flag but to share the same passion and love for our country and the island that have adopted us but we have also to understand the importance to know and remember where we come from in order to better understand where you want to be or go" says Milagros de Windt, Semana Dominicana spokeswoman.
